Protect Arnhem Land is a campaign to fight offshore exploration, mining and drilling around the entire coastline of the Northern Territory Arnhem Land region.
Last August, it came to light that there are more than 40 potential petroleum exploration sites off the coast of Arnhem Land.
The people living on this country had not been informed of the submission of such exploration permits nor were they aware of what mining exploration entails.
Australia
Front Line Action on Coal released this statement on January 30.
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Front Line Action on Coal has hit Whitehaven’s Tarrawonga mine and federal environment minister Tony Burke’s office in Roseland with simultaneous actions, unfurling huge banners that read: “The Burke stops here”.
The banners call on the Federal Environment Minister to reject coal expansions that would decimate the Leard Forest.
Solidarity released this statement on January 30.
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Trade union activist Sulthoni Farras, a leader of the Indonesian union federation Progresip, union alliance Sekber Buruh, and member of Indonesian political organisation KPO-PRP, is in danger of arrest for leading a strike last year. Another activist, Bona Ventura, may also face charges.
The Indonesian government and bosses are using these kinds of tactics against a growing workers’ movement in Indonesia.
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Dear Comrade/Friend,
A possible malaria scare in the Manus Island refugee detention camp has sparked new calls to label the offshore detention regime a violation of human rights.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said on January 27 that a 10-year-old girl had been in the camp's medical centre with malaria-like symptoms — high fever, shivering and bodily pain.
A new report by the Australian National Audit Office has found the federal government spends more than $100 million a year to administer income management in the Northern Territory.
Over 17,000 people were on income management at the end of June last year, while welfare quarantining remains a key component of the controversial NT Intervention,
The scheme costs the Commonwealth Government between $6600 and $7900 per person, per year.
Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney's Paddy Gibson says he condemns the government's decision to maintain compulsory income management.
This is surely a country that could use a bit of good news. It has been a tough few weeks with raging bushfires, severe flooding and, just when it seemed it couldn't get worse, the heartbreaking news we will be subjected to the longest election campaign in Australian history.
Veteran political commentator Michelle Grattan has dubbed PM Julia Gillard's early announcement of a September 14 federal election as the opening of the “longest election campaign in history”. She says it's “clever tactics” on Gillard's part. Another prominent political commentator, Lenore Taylor, says that this is an attempt by an embattled ALP government to “reboot the political debate”.
As often happens at this time of year, in the lead-up to January 26, commentators and activists raised the suggestion that Australia’s national day be moved to a different date.
Writing in the January 21 Sydney Morning Herald, Aboriginal MLA in the ACT legislative assembly Chris Bourke said: “Which nation celebrates its national day on the date it was invaded by a foreign power? … The answer, of course, is Australia.”
The ninth National Conference of the Socialist Alliance was held in Geelong over January 18-20. More than 150 people took part in the conference, including Hashim bin Rashid representing the newly formed united party of the left in Pakistan, the Awami Workers Party.
Rashid attended the conference as a special guest, and gave presentations on racism, refugees and the war on terror, as well as the continuing struggles of the poor, the dispossessed and oppressed communities in Pakistan today.
The Only Democracy In the Middle East (TM) held elections on January 22, which is what all good democracies do — even if not all those actually governed by the Israeli Knesset got to vote.
Those in Gaza, which depends on the Israeli government elected in the poll to decide such things as which basic goods are let in to the besieged territory and whether or not they will be bombed on any given day, didn't get to cast a ballot. But in the West Bank, you'll be pleased to hear it is more mixed.
Earthworker is a new manufacturing cooperative that aims to build renewable energy products in Australia. It is worker-owned and controlled, and committed to supporting local jobs at the same time as providing a way to reduce carbon emissions.
Beginning with solar hot water systems, the aim is to eventually expand to include a full range of green technologies.
The NSW Barry O’Farrell government has been criticised for having close links to mining companies after it made two controversial decisions in December last year.
The Coalition government announced it would appoint a former mining company executive to the board of the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) and confirmed it would axe funding to the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO).
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